Machine gun starter and recharger



Nov. 21, 1939. P. G. WAGNER MACHINE GUN STARTER AND BECHARGER Filed Jan. 11

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' P. G. WAGNER MACHINE GUN STARTER AND RECHARGER Filed Jan. 11, 1938 13 Sheets-Sheet 2 Nov. 21, 1939. P. G. WAGNER MACHINE GUN STARTER AND HECHARGER Fiied Jan. 11,

1938 15 Sheets-Sheet, s

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NMN E "P. G. WAGNER MACHINE GUN STARTER AND RECHARGER 'Nov. 21, 1939.

Filed Jan. 11, 1938 13 Sheets-Sheet 4 Jrzvezz'lar Paul 6. Mayne):

21, 1939. P. G WAGNER 2,180,751

MACHINE GUN STARTER AND RECHARGER I Filed Jan. 11, 1938 13 Sheets-Sheet 5 45 46 /Z8 f ,/25 ,,/26 f Nov. 21, 1939. P. G, WAGNER 1 0,7

MACHINE GUN STARTERANb RECHARGER Filed Jan. 11, 1938 13 Sheets-Shet 6 mm RM RM Nov. 21, 1939. P. G. WAGNER 2,180,751

MACHINE GUN STARTER ANDBECHARGER Filed Jan. 11, 1938 13 Sheets-Sheet 7 "fir Nov. 21, 1939.

P. G. WAGNER MACHINE GUN STARTER AND RECHARGER Filed Jan. 11, 1938 1:5 Sheets-Sheet a ON mm \D Inverzfor Paul 61 lflnyizel".

P. G. WAGNER MACHINE GUN STARTER AND RECHARGER Nov. 21, 1939.

Filed Jan. 11, 1938 13 Sheets-Sheet 9 Nov. 21, 1939. P. GI WAGNER 2,180,751

MACHINE GUN STARTER AND RECHARGER I Filed Jan. 11, 1938 15 Sheets-Sheet 10 Ila/ 2270? 137g! 6: Way/zen Nov. 21, 1939. P. e. WAGNER MACHINE GUN STARTER AND RECHARGER Filed Jan. 11, 1938 13 Sheets-Sheet 12 v fiffarney:

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' MACHINE GUN STARTER AND RECHARGER Filed Jan. 11, 1938 15- Sheets-Shet 1s Patented Nov. 1, 193,9

- w s'rsn'ran Paul G. Wagner, Los eles, Calif.

Application January 11, 1938, Serial No. 184A22 43 Claims.

This invention has to do generally withmechanisms and systems for starting and recharging machine guns and is more particularly concerned with electrically operated starters and rechargers.

The device may be applied with advantage to machine guns of any type which may be adapted to take the mechanism, and irrespective of the However, it is partype of gun-emplacement.

ticularly well adapted for use in connection with air-craft machine guns and even more particularly with th se of the fixed or wing type. Therefore, I will describe the device as applied to wingtype we and will speak of the solutions which the device offersto the peculiar problems oifered by such guns, but it is to be understood that this illustrative choice is in no way to be considered as limiting the invention.

Also I will describe a system wherein the starters of several guns or banks of guns are put under the control of a single trigger-switch, but again this is not to be taken as limitative since parts of the system are fully efiective even though applied to a single gun.

mechanism, but this is done for purposes of illustration only, and is not to be considered as limitative on my invention, considered in its broader aspects. 7

Generally, guns of this type are recoil-actuated, that is, the force of recoil is used to perform various mechanical operations of the gun. When the gun is fired, the recoil unlocks the breech and throws back the bolt, added rearward impetus usually being given by the action of an accelerator, and this retractive movement of the bolt or bolt group (which contains all the firing mechanism) extracts a live cartridge from the ammunition belt, extracts the case of the expended cartridge from the chamber, cocksdhe firing mechanism and retracts the ammunition feed pawl.

-belt- On counter-recoil or subsequent forward movement of the bolt under the action of the driving sprin the bolt ejects the empty cartridge case. feeds the selected live cartridge into the chamber, feeds the belt links and cartridges forwardly one step, closes and locks the breech and releases the safety device of the firing mechanism. Then, if

the trigger is still held depressed, the gun is immediately re-flred and the above cycle is repeated until the trigger is released. llpon trigger-Prelease, any cycle which may have been started is completed, thus leaving a live cartridge in the I chamber ready for subsequent firing.

If a defective shell or dud is entered in the chamber, its consequent failure to flre robs the 5 gun of recoil actuation. There is thus no available iorce toextract the defective shell and replace it with a live one-this all meaning that the gun goes dead. Likewise it will be seen that when a new ammunition beltis fed to the gun, 10 there will be no live cartridge in the chamber, the recoil from the last cartridge fired from the previous belt having been effective only to extract and eject the last cartridge case. Thus, if a plane takes off without having introduced a live. car- 15 tridge into the chamber (even though a full belt has been started in the feed-way) there is no, force available to introduce a live cartridge into the chamber-and the gun remains dead.

To overcome these problems, it has been the 20 custom to provide the bolt or bolt assembly with a stud which projects from one side of the gun and to apply to this stud an operating slide which is in the nature of a rod adapted to be hooked over the stud. The gunner, by pulling 25 back on this hooked rod and against the force of the driving spring and thenreleasing it, per- I forms the same omce as that normally performed takes appreciable time and, in any event, distracts the gunner's attention from his duties which sometimes include both piloting and And the loss of that time or that distraction may spell the difference betweenliie and death to the gunner and gun crew. Furthermore, the gun emplacement may be such that the manual charger is relatively inaccessible. This condition is particularly aggravated in wing-type guns, and the attempted solution by carrying cables back from the charging hook or "operating slide" to the cockpit and into reach of the pilot-gunner, 50 is far from satisfactory for obvious reasons.

Therefore it is among the general objects of my invention to provide means whereby the starting or recharging may be accomplished with ease and s As a very particular feature, the 55 system is such that, should a stoppage occur, the recharger comes into action instantaneously and automatically, and, by actual test, the action is so rapid that from the time a defectivecartridge has failed to'fire up to the time thatit has been replaced by a live cartridge and that cartridge has been fired, only one and one quarter seconds have elapsed.

If the successive cartridges are defective, the device automatically continues in operation (assuming the trigger is held closed) until a live cartridge reaches the chamber and puts the gun back into action although, as a precaution, I prefer to provide automatically operating means for throwing the recharger out of operation in the event it operates continuously for a given number of cycles, though the throw-out does not act if the successive cycles are not continuous. The throw-out is thus adapted to function in. the event the ammunition belt is emptied, for with no fresh cartridges-available for feeding into the chamber, the charger will cycle continuously as long as the trigger is depressed and thus have the same 'eflect. as though defective cartridges were repeatedly presented to the chamber. Likewise, if the gun jams or the charger mechanism stalls, the charger circuit is opened by automatic action of the breaker.

While the gun is idle there is no drain on the source of electrical supply which operates the charger, but the instant the gun is put into action by depressing the firing trigger, the charger is automatically put in readiness to perform its function, drawing but little current while in this readiness stage. Current is used to 'an appreciable extent only when the charge is actually a in operation.

its

charger circuit is likewise closed and thus put in a condition oireadiness for instant action should there be a stoppage. As a particular feature, I have arranged an automatically acting switch which opens the firing circuit, in the event the recharger starts into reloading operation, thus reducing the drain on the battery feeding the various circuits. since it is impossible to fire. the'gun until the reloading operation is completed, this opening of the firing circuit does no harm, and it isreclosed an instant before the live shell is chambered, so no useful firing time is lost due to the interruption of the firing circult.

The circuiting arrangement is also such that once a recharging cycle is started, it will continue to completion even though the gunner releases the trigger loeiore such completion. Where several guns are in circuit, each with its individual recharger, the circuiting is such that the operation of one recharger will not afiect the other rechargers.

Of course, in certain cases the trigger may mechanically and directly control the firing mechanism. In such a case there will be no firing-circuit complications, and the trigger in its movement releasing the firing pin may be utilized to act on a switch adapted to close the aiaoyci "readiness or "priming circuit of the charger, which circuit, as well as the main charger circuit will remain closed as long as the trigger is depressed or, if the trigger be released during a charging cycle, will remain closed until the cycle is complete even though the trigger be released in the meantime.

It is also among the objects of my invention to provide a device of the character described which may be applied to a machine gun without altering the standard gun-mechanism. Likewise, since guns of the type mentioned are, for a well understood reason, reversible to take their cartridge-feed from either the left or right hand sides, my device is so constructed that it may be easily and quickly adapted to fit a gun irrespective of the side of feed.

The device is also constructed so that it is I exceedingly compact and of such shape and size that it occupies the least possible space (a feature of great importance when it is considered that often the gun and recharger occupy exceedingly cramped quarters between upper and lower. wing surfaces and the other clearances are seriously impaired) and in no way'interferes with the normal functioning'of the gun. Yet the actual mechanism of the recharger is, such that its interior parts are rendered easily accessible for inspection or repair.

As is so essential to any aircraft device, the recharger is extremely light and yet sufliciently sturdy to withstand vibration strains and other severe service conditions to which it is exposed.

Other objects and features of novelty will become apparent from the following detailed description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which: 4 t

Fig. l is a side elevation of a gun equipped with my charger showing certain of the gun-elements in broken-away section and in more-or-less diagrammatic form;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of Fig. 1, showing also a cartridge-belt in place;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation showing an enlarged view of the charger and only the immediately adjacent part of the gun, as viewed from' the side opposite that shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. i is a plan view of Fig. 3 but showing in broken-away section and somewhat conventionally.certain elements of the firing mechanisms;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged section on line 55 of Fig. 6 is a reduced section on line 66 of Fig. 5, but omitting the wires leading to the binding posts;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged section on line |-l of Fig. 5;

Fig. 8 is a section showing a fragmentary enlargement of the motor brake as viewed from the planes indicated by broken line 8-8 of Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is an enlarged fragmentary section on line 9-9 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 10 is an enlarged section on line Iii-i0 g 4 2,130,751 Fig. 17 is an enlarged section on line lI-II I sections of the control box;

Fig. 23 is a section on line 23-23 of Fig. 22;

Fig. 24 is an enlarged section on line 24-24 of Fig.

Fig. 25 is'an enlarged section on line 25-25 of Fig. 24;

Fig. 26 is an enlarged medial section through the control switch;

Fig. 27 is a section on' line 21-21 of Fig. 26 but showing the parts in changed positions;

Fig. 28 is a section on line 28-28 of Fig. 26;

Fig. 29 is a section on line 29-29 of Fig. 26; n Fig. 30 is a detached, schematic perspective of certain of the contact members inthe control switch of Fig. 26;

Figs. 31 to 34, inclusive, are fragmentary sections, partly in elevation, showing successive positions of certain elements in the control switch of Fig. 26;

Fig. 35 is an enlarged medial section through the circuit breaker shown in the control box of Fig. 20, but showing the breaker open;

Fig. 36 is a fragmentary elevation of the part of the mechanism shown in Fig. 35, but showing.

parts thereof in broken-away section, the breaker here being shown as closed;

Fig. 37 is a section on line 31-31 of Fig. 35;

Fig. 33 is a section on line 38-33 of Fig. 35 but showing the breaker parts in a position intermediate full-open and full-closed positions;

Fig. 39 is a section on line 39-33 of Fig. 35;

Fig. 40 is a wiring diagram of a two-gun control;

Fig. 41 is a wiring diagram of a variational embodiment; and 1 Fig. 42 is a schematic view showing a variation in the arrangement of the priming switch tappet.

As stated above, I have illustrated a machine gun of a known type and make, this being done for illustrative purposes only and is not to be considered as limitative on the invention. Thus, reference numeral i0 indicates generally a reversible-feed, fixed or wing type of Browning aircraft machine gun. The mechanism and operation of such guns is well understood to those skilled in the art, but reference to the following patents may advantageously be had:

1,293,021,13rownin'g, February 4, 1919; 1,803,349, Pfeifier, 1,803,350, Tansley 1,803,351, Moore, 1,803,352, Tansley, all of May 5, 1931; and- 1,936;- 254, Moore, November 21, 1933.

I will describe only such parts of the gun, proper, as may be of interest in following through a typical firing cycle in order .better to understand-the various functions of my reeharger,and in order more definitely to relate certain parts 'of the recharger to parts of the gun. The showing of the gun elements is somewhat schematic and conventional,.but will sumce for this limited purpose.

Gun I3 is made up generally of receiver H and jacketed barrel-assembly J2. Attached to the side or cheek plates i3 of receiver H are rearward adapters H1 and forward adapters l5 which take cross-bolts "Band II, respectively, whereby the gun is removably secured to a stationary base l8 (for instance, a fixed part of the wing structure of an aircraft) through brackets l9.

Barrel 20 is chambered as at 2| to receive a cartridge 22, while cheek plates I3 are cut away to provide a feedway 23 adapted to receive an ammunition belt 23 made up in the usual manner of live cartridge 25 and belt-links 26. In Fig. 1, one of the-live cartridges 25a is shown within the receiver and in position to be withdrawn from' hook 32 engaged with the firing-pin head 33, thus releasably holding the firing-pin from being projected to firing position. The sear is shifted upwardy (as viewed in Fig. 2, though with the gun in normal position this shift is horizontal) to clear hook 32 from head 33 in order to release with the particular type of tri ger employed, I 85 have chosen to illustrate the use of a well known type of trigger solenoid generally indicated at 35. In this case, sear 3| is shifted to release position by inward projection of a plunger 36 having a beveled nose 3? in line with sear 3|. At 38 the plunger is pivotally connected to crank 39 supported at 30 on the gun-case, said crank being pivotally connected at M to core or plunger 33 of solenoid 35. Upon the firing of the gun, bolt 23 is freed for its recoil movement, but if plunger 36 is continuously held in its innermost position it will act on the sear to release the firing pin each time the bolt returns to its full-forward position.

Crank 32 is rotated in a counter-clockwise dimotion (as viewed in Fig. 4) to release the firingpin, by energizatlon of solenoid 35 and the consequent draft exerted on core 33. The energize.-

tion of the solenoid is accomplished'by closing a firing circuit through manual "pressure exerted on a trigger, all of which will be described .23, cocks the firing mechanism and retracts the ammunition belt feed pawl (not shown). On

This rearward movement ex counter-recoil movement of the bolt due to the action of driving spring 3 1, bolt 23 feeds livecartridge 250 into chamber 2|, feeds belt 2 4 one step forward (feeding means not here shown) closes and locks the breach (means not here shown) and releases the safety device (not shown) of the firing mechanism; thus returning the mechanlsmto the condition of Figs. 1 and 4 so that if the trigger is still depressed, the firing and reloading cycle described above will be in- Should a defective shell find its way into thechamber or if the chamber is empty by reason of the emptying of the ammunition belt (even though the new belt has been introduced to the feed-way but has not delivered a live cartridge to the chamber) there will be no recoil force available to throw a fresh load into the chamber. It is therefore usual to provide a bolt or cocking stud which extends from bolt 26 and throughslot 46 (Fig. 12) in one of the side plates it, into the projected position illustrated in Fig. 4. This stud is threaded into bolt 28 and held from subsequent outward displacement by stud collar.

41 which is opposed by the inner face of plate [3. At the rearward end of slot 46 is an enlarged opening 38 which will permit the outward passage of collar M when the stud is to be detached from one side of bolt 28 and reapplied to the other side thereof when the gun-feed is reversed side for side, itbeing understood that a 'slot and opening it and (18, respectively, are provided on the opposite side plate of the receiver in order to allow for such stud-reversal.

Previously, when a gun was to be loaded or reloaded under any of the above conditions, it has been usual to apply a hook or slide assembly (not shown) whereby the stud might be manuthe bolt in a manner to eject the dead cartridge and to chamber the live cartridge, whereupon the gun was again in condition to fire upon depression of the trigger.

My charger, generally indicated at A, is mounted on the side of the gun and is adapted to act against stud 65 for retracting bolt Edunder any of the conditions stated above, coming into play automatically in the event of a stoppage when the trigger is depressed, thus relieving the gunner of the necessity of undertaking the task which, as was pointed out in the forepart of the specification, represents a very series interruption. Likewise, as will be later pointed out, the recharger may be put into actuation by a wilful act on the part of the gunner or pilot, but this act is nothing more than the closing of a switch or the pulling of the trigger, and therefore does not present dimculty 'of any kind.

Of course, broadly speaking, in order to retract the bolt, the charger can be adapted to engage any suitable element or portion of bolt 28 bolt stud, being, in efiect, a part of the bolt/it may be considered that the charger is adapted to engagethe bolt itself, and my broader claims contemplate such general application.

answer utilize a separate bolt-carrying element .for operating the said switch and, in a variational form which I will later describe, such provision is made.

In the immediately following description of the mechanics of the starter or recharger and the various switches used in connection therewith I will not specify the particularities of the" electrical circuiting, as that would be meaningless until all the mechanical structures are understood, Therefore, in preliminarily describing the makeup, functions and operations of certain of the parts, I will merely identify circuit terminals or contacts and state what will happen when circuits leading to or from them are opened or closed. Subsequently the. circuits themselves will be established.

In order to prepare gun ID for the application of charger A, it is merely necessary to replace the usual mounting bolts with elongated bolts It and ill, bolt 18 being keyed to adapters Id at 49 and the usual stud nuts being replaced by sleevenuts bil.

Elongated adapter frame or carriage 5! is made up ofupwardly opening channel or boxportion 52, the upper edges 53 of channel legs 5d (Figs. 9 and 10) preferably being planed 'smooth, and of extension 55 which is preferably ribbed at 5%. Legs at are apertured at 5'? to take bolt it, while extension 55 takes bolt ll, a second bolt hole bit being provided to take the mounting of a gun wherein the standard dimensions differ from those of the model illustrated.

Carriage 59 is detachably held against displacement from bolts it and ill by washer 59 and pinned nuts 6% The charger, proper, which is bodily but adjustably fixed to carriage bl, is made up of three general units--retracter unit B, drive-motor'unit C and priming switch unit D, the motor carried. by unit C being indicated generally at E; (Fig. 5) all three units being interconnected so they may be moved as one with respect to carriage 5!. I will first describe retracter unit B.

Body member 6i, preferably in the form of a casting, has a downward extension or foot-piece 62 which fits between channel legs 55, the downwardly facing and outwardly extending shoulders 63 (Fig. 10) near the upper end of the foot-piece being adapted to rest and, at times, to slide limitedly on the tracks presented ,by the upper edges 53 of the channel legs. I

Extending through fcot-pieceli2 are horizontally elongated holes E i, 65 and 68 adapted to take bolts 61, i6 and 58, respectively. Bolts Si and B8 likewise extend through channel legs 54, and it will be seen that by loosening these bolts, as well as nut 60 on bolt l6, the retracter unit B may be bodily shifted longitudinally of carriage St to accomplish certain adjustments, the purpose of which will be later made clear. It will also later appear that since units 3', C and D are tied together, the bodily shifting of B likewise shifts units C and D and all elements carried thereby.

arsenal It is desirable that there be h Capability of very fine adjustment "of these units and certain of their elements with respect to certain gun parts, and therefore I have provided an adjustment nut 69 which is mounted for rotatio'n in but held against relative longitudinal movement by an end-piece "I which is secured at N (Fig. 9) to the rearward ends bf legs 54. This adiustment nut takes bolt or lead screw 12, which is threaded into foot-piece 62 at I3,,nut 14 being applied to end-wall I of motor casing I5, through which end-wall the bolt "I3 also passes,

serving to tie together that wall and body niember 6|. It will be obvious that, with the nuts on bolts I6, 61 and 68 loosened, manipulation of a nut 69 will feed units B, C and l) longitudinally with respect to the 'gun'to accomplish the adjustments of which I will speak later. End piece I0 has an upwardly opening slot 11 which permits upward movement of adjustment nut 69 -so, when bolts l6, 6'! and 63 are remcved, the entire charger may be lifted clear of carriage '5'I.

Body member BI has a rearward, vertically extending attachment flange I8, a circular, hollow hub portion I9, and a forwardly extending arm 80 terminating in a horizontally elongated hollow hub 8|, the body-member casting having vertical ribs 82 and hbrizon'tal ribs 83. Hollow 84 of hub I9 opens downwardly at 85 to hollow 83 which is provided lust above foot-piece closed by end wan I5, except for the passage of the motor shaft, as will be described.

The sides of hollow 84 are closed by removable caps 39 and 90 which, respectively, support ball bearings 9I and Him drive shaft 93, the latter extending through opening 94 in cap- 90 toward the gun-side of the retracter and terminating in an integral sprocket 95 (Fig. 10).

Within hollow 84 and keyed at 96 to shaft 93 is worm wheel 91, the hubs 98 thereof holding it centrally disposed within the hollow (Fig. 10).

Within the horizontal bore 99 of hub BI is a bodily shiftable shaft-and-bearing assembly generally indicated at I00 (Figs. 5 and 11). It consists of a cylindrical tube IOI carrying at its opposite extremities the ball bearings I02 and I03, through the inner races of which extends shaft I04; shoulder I05 and shaft-nut I 06 engaging the cuterfaces of the. inner ball races, while the outer races engage tube shoulders I01. The tube IOI slidingly fits the relatively restricted, vertical dimension of bore 99, but said tube may be bodily slid longitudinally of the elongated bore under certain conditions. The tube has a flange I08 engaging the inner face of hub 8|, which face I09 has a longitudinally extending key-way H0 at the forward side of the hub, this key-way being'adapted slidably to take a key I II which is held in a slot of flange I08 by pin II3. Ring cap H2 is threaded on the end of tube IN to hold bearing I02 and hence shaft I04 in assembly with the tube. At the outer end of the tube is threaded a clamping cap I I4, a lock washer H5 (with bendable lock-lugs IIB adapted to be turned outwardly against the wrench-faces of cap II4) being interposed between the nut or cap H4 and the outer face II! of hub 9|, said face being longitudinally grooved at II8 to take the bent-over key portion 9 of washer H5.

Shaft I04 carries an integral sprocket I20, and a drive or retracter chain I2I is trained over prockets 95 amino. It b s e th t he v links at I26 and the pins at I21.

tightness of this chain may be varied bybodily shifting assembly I00 toward or away from shaft 93, such movement varying the horizontal spacing between shafts 93 and I04. This shift is accomplished by adjustment of screw I22 which is threaded angularly through hub 8| (Fig. 5) the tip I23 thereof being pointed as illustrated, to

present a conical face which will be substantially tangential to tube IIII in all its positions of adjustment. Jamb nut I24 is adapted to hold screw link typ the rollers being indicated at I25, the

The upper course, I28 of the chain (Fig. 12) is supported between sprockets 95 and I to prevent it sagging when certain strains are imposed thereon which tend to cause it to dip. This support or bridge consists of a bar or track I29 which immediately underlies rollers I and, in turn, is supported by horizontal studs I30 which extend through arm 80 and are clamped thereto by collars I3I and nuts I32 (Fig. 11).

@ha'in I2i carries one or more abutments or driving lu'gs. These are here shown as two in numbenthe timing of the device being such that lugs I33 and I34 alternately come into play, that is, a given lug performs its oflice during a given actuation of the charger while the other lug idles, and on the next actuation of the charger the other lug performs its office while said given lug idles. It will be understood, however, that the invention considered in its broader aspects is not limited to the use of any particular number of lugs, as the length of the chain and the timj ing thereof may be changed to suit the number.

of lugs actually used.

Since lugs I33 and I34 are identical, only one need be described in detail. Side bars I35 lieat opposite sides of the chain links and are connected by an integral cross-bar or pusher! I36 having a forward abutment or thrust face I31. Each side bar has two points of connection with chain pins I21, the rearward connection being a simple pivotal mounting on pin I2'Ia, while the forward connection is by way of a slot I38 which takes pin I2Ib, this assembly spacing the points of lug and chain connection three full links apart. The abutment face I3! is intermediate the points of pivotal connection and preferably slightly behind the forward point of connection when the lug is on the upper course of the chain.

It will be seen that while a given lug I33 is travelling along the upper course of the chain (dotted lines in Fig. 13) track I29 supports this chain so that lug face I31 extends vertically and in fully effective contact with bolt stud 45, but

as that lug approaches the end of its upper course, it starts to drop quite abruptly (Fig. 13)

the slotted or lost motion connection Its-l 21b engaging the stud 45 and then driving it re'arwardly oi the gun to fully retracted position, this movement of the stud carrying bolt 28 to its rearward position and causing it to periorm'its normal recoil functions as described above. Just I as the stud reaches this position of full retraction, lug I 3S3 will be withdrawn or drop frombehind the stud (Fig. 13) whereupon the stud and its bolt will be freed for forward movement under the power of driving spring M, the bolt thus performing all its normal counter-recoil functions.

Before the retraction chain comes to rest after clearing stud 35 under the above conditions, it will have moved around to' a position where lug I33 occupies the positioniormerly had by lug ltd,

while lug E35 will have been advanced to the posi-' tion formerly occupied by' lug N3 in Fig. 12, and hence, on the next. actuation of the retracter, lug I34 will engage the stud to retract the bolt.

By shifting unit A with respect to carriage 5!, as accomplished by the means previously described, the timing .of the lug-and-stud engagement and release may be altered, it being obvious that such a shift will control the time of stud pick-up and lug let-0d with relation to the start or finish of the retraction cycle.

The drive of retracter unit A, or more specifically of chain Mil from motor E, is accomplished as follows. One end ltd of the motor shaft extends through ball bearing Mi in end wall iii and carries, within hollow 88, a pinion 9 32 keyed 'to the shaft and held against displacement therefrom by nut M3. Drive pinion Hi2 meshes with spur gear M4 on shaft me, said shaft being journalled in bearings M6 and M7 carried by body member 6| at opposite ends of hollow 8t. Keyedto shaft 5 is a worm W which meshes with worm wheel 91. The end of the worm also preferably abuts against thrust collar 11% on the shaft. The shouldering arrangement clearly shown in Fig. 5 and nuts M8 and M9 hold the worm-shaft unit positioned and in assembly. Nut-I49 is pinned to shaft 5 and. has an end slot I50.

Cap 15!, is screwed into body member bl to hold bearing H'l against shoulder W2 and also provides the mounting for a manual control whereby shaft 5 may be manipulated under certain conditions.

It will be obvious that motor operation will drive sprocket 95 through shaft 0. gears I42, I, shaft |l5, worm W, worm wheel 8'? and shaft 83, thus setting up operative movement of the retracter, or, more specifically of chain "I and lugs I33, I".

Within neck 154 of cap III is plunger I which is in axial alignment with shaft I. This plunger carries at its inner end a head "8 having cross-lug Ill adapted, at times, to be entered in slot I50 01. nut I. Normally, spring I, interposed between head ll! oi. plunger I55 and shoulder-J". tends to maintain the plunger in the position 01' Fig. 5, where it entirely clears nut M9. However, should occasion arise to advance the r'etracter chain in because it is out of time or because a power shut-ofi has interrupted the operation of the motor at a time when the driving lugs have failed to complete their full cycle'of movement, or if any other reason appears for manually actuating the retracter, a screw driver may be entered in plunger notch lei and the plunger then thrust inwardly until lug '85! engages slot 656, whereupon turning of the screw driver will cause rotary movement to be imparted to shaft M5, and thus, through the worm drive, serve to actuate the charger chain.

Or, of course, by manually rotating shaft M5 reversely, the charger chain may be backedup, during which operation pin i453, extending,

through shaft and worm, serves to take the longitudinal thrust of the worm.

Motor unit C includes a casing made up of three sections 16, 552 and 653, sections 16 and ate being cup-shaped and including end walls "ill and i641, respectively, and the central section lttgbeing ring-shaped and having lap-Joint connections I65 with the adjoining sections. The

sections are clamped together by bolts its and 'by threading screws ltlj over bolts ltd, resilient washers H3 interposed between nuts it? and the ends of screws Mil, yielding to allow said screws to be threaded completely home to clamp the casing sections firmly in assembly in spite of possible slight longitudinal inaccuracies, and yet filling the space between nuts l'it'. and screws Mil to prevent said nuts from'backing off.

End wall 15, and hence all the casing sections and contained parts, are held to unit B by nut id (Fig. 5) as previously described, and by angularly extending cap-screws lit (Fig. 3) which extend through attachment flange l8.

End wall I64 carries ball bearings ll l which are held from bodily movement to the left by flange H5 and from bodily movement to the right (Fig. 5) by disk H6, whichdisk, in turn, is held against both rotational and longitudinal displacement by means to be described and is thus adapted to hold screws it! from backing out accidentally. i

It becomes important when the circuit to motor E is broken after stud 65 has been retracted by action of unit 13, that the coast of the motor be checked to prevent an over-drive 01' the retracter which might otherwise bring lugs I33 and IN beyond their proper starting positions.

Therefore, to establish within safe limits the extent to which the motor may coast and to prevent creeping at all times while the charger is out of operation, I prefer to provide braking means, here generally indicated at F, which goes into play as the motor circuit is broken and remains effective until that circuit is re-closed.

As a particmarly eflective means for controlling the r lease and application or the brake, I employ an electromagnet which is in series with the motor circuit, so, as the motor circuit is closed the brake is magnetically released and, when the motor circuit is subsequently reopened,

. the magnet is de-energized and the brake is again put under the influence of a brake-applying spring.

As preferred brake and brake control means,

I have provided the following mechanism, though it is to be understood this is not limitative on the broader aspects of the invention. The motor armature I11 and commutator I18 with their.

shaft extensions I40 and I19, are capable of limited end-play, pinion I42 being of such width to remain in full effective mesh with gear I44 throughout such movement.

Sleeve I80 on shaft extension I19 has pressiit within the bore of the inner race of bearing I14 and about this sleeve is a compression spring I8I which is interposed between that inner race and collar E82 on said shaft extension. At the opposite side of bearing I14, the shaft extension I88 and serving to hold the motor against free rotation.

The brake is released by the electromagnetic means generally indicated at G which is mounted within barrel I88. This barrel, together with junction box I89, is held to motor casing wall I84 by screws I90 which extend through inturned flange I9I on box I89 and also through "brake disk I18 (Fig. 8) to hold the latteragainst rotation, said disk being held against longitudinal displacement by its interposition between end 'wall I84 and the inner end of barrel I 88. Barrel I88 has an annular flange I92 adapted to center it within box-flange I9I, 'and its bore is internally threaded at I93 to take ring-cup I94. Within cup I94 is ring I95 having externally threaded ring-flange I96, ring I95 being held within cup I94 by annulus I91 which has shoulder engagement I98 with the upper end of flange ripheral edge of cup I94 as at 204 Insulating ring 203 is grooved at 205 to take heads 281 of. terminals 208 and 209, which terminals are thus held against. end-wise play by the interposition of the heads between the grooved bottom and the side of coil 202. it being understood that the terminals are inserted during the previously described assembly of the magnet elements. The heads are cut arcuately at'2 I0 to fit the curve of groove 205, the resulting inter-engagement preventing rotation of the terminals.

The shanks 2II- of the terminals extend through insulating bushings 2I2' which, in turn, extend through members I95 and I94 (Fig. 5), and heads 201 are electrically connected, one

each, to opposite ends of coil 202 by wires 2I2 and 2 I3 so, by closing the circuit leading to terminals 208 and 209, coil 202, is energized and thereupon acts through pole-piece 200 to draw brake disk I83 to the right (Figs. 5 and 8) against the action of spring I8I and thus clears that disk (which can be considered both a magnet armature and a brake member) from braking.engagement with friction ring I88, freeing the motor for rotation. Engagement of collar I82 with the'end of sleeve I80 limits the endwise movement of shaft I19 and parts carried thereby. Whenthe circuit to terminals 208 and 209 is broken, coil 200 is de-energized and, spring I M acts to thrust the motor armature and shaft'to the left in Fig. 5,

' and thus re-applies the'brakef by frictionally engaging disk l83 with ring I88.

Contact shanks 2II extend through beyond'plate 2I4 and plug 2I5, both plate andplug being circular and made of insulating material. The exposed ends of shanks 2| I provide binding 'posts for the attachment of the coil-energizing wires, and the plate and plug are held against accidental displacement by nuts 2" threaded on shanks 2. Plug' 2I5 also has a flange 2H5 adapted to overlie the heads of screws I90 to prevent said screws from accidental backing-out.

Plug 2| 5 also carries terminals 2I1 and 2I8 (Fig. 6) to which other circuit connections are made, as will later be described, and they are preferably molded in the plug, being held against rotation by knurled heads 2I9. The interposition of plate I24 between said heads and cup member I94 insures proper insulation.

Junction box I89 is madeup of a substantially cylindrical portion 220 and a riser 22I.- As has been described, the box is heldto barrel I88 by screws I90. Its cover plate 222 is detachably held in place by screws 222' and is provided with -a hollow neck 223 through which the various wires from the' outside may be drawn. The neck is threaded to take a fitting 224 whereby the wire-carrying conduit or sheath 225 may be detachably fixed thereto.

Motor casing section I82 carries an integral elbow 228 which, through unions 221 and -228, is connected through conduit 229 to the nipple 280 which opens into the compartment 28I of box I have provided means whereby (when the gun is out of action by reason of a defective cartridge or by reason of an empty chamber) the circuit to motor E may be closed to accomplish retracter actuation as described above, together with means for rebreaking-that circuit when the retracter completes its work.

To this end, I provide the switch mechanism generally indicated at D which is associated with the motor circuit, the switch remaining open while the gun is wilfully kept out of action but being put under the power of a force tending to close it as soon as the gun goes into action; though it is held against actually closing as long as the gun fires normally. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the closing of this switch is not fully effective by itself to close the motor circuit, it acting only as a relay to control 

